Beamsville, Grimsby teens are now West Niagara Secondary students even though the school’s not built

Niagara | Lincoln | Community | Education |

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Published September 2, 2022 at 12:22 pm

All students at the existing Beamsville District Secondary School and Grimsby Secondary School will be West Niagara Secondary School students this month, even though the school's not yet completed.

As high school returns on September 6, students in the Beamsville area will walk through the doors of Beamsville District Secondary School once again.

Just as the Grimsby students will once again return to Grimsby Secondary School.

Except, this year, they will not be Beamsville District or Grimsby Secondary School students. The District School Board of Niagara (DSBN) has decreed that these two sets of students in two separate school are now officially West Niagara Secondary School students, instead.

The one problem – West Niagara Secondary School is still under construction and the DSBN has offered up no firm dates on when it might be open.

In fact, their most recent missive on the school’s completion came back in March when it became very apparent that West Niagara Secondary School would not be ready.

“Our goal has always been to open the doors of what we know will be an exceptional, beautiful new school, in September 2022. However, due to the impacts of the global pandemic, and the issues and delays it caused, the West Niagara Secondary School building will not be ready to open by September 2022,” said Warren Hoshizaki,
DSBN Director of Education.

“When we have a clearer projection of when the building will be completed, we will share an update.”

That means students in Grades 9, 10, and 11 at Grimsby Secondary School and Beamsville District Secondary School last school year, along with incoming Grade 9 students from feeder schools, will officially be enrolled at West Niagara Secondary School, together, though in separate schools.

“Even though the building itself is not ready, it won’t stop students from uniting as the West Niagara Wolf Pack,” said Hoshizaki.

This will be involved some extra bus work, however, as the entire student body will be shuttled back-and-forth between Grimbsy and Beamsville, which will break down like this:

  • Students will attend the GSS location for all regular classes and programming
  • The facilities at BDSS will be used for specialty courses and programs
  • Transportation to and from the GSS site, and between the GSS and BDSS sites, will be provided
  • The courses and programs students requested through our recent course interest survey will still be offered beginning September 2022, along with extracurriculars, clubs, and teams
  • The DSBN is working on getting the synthetic turf track and field ready for use at the West Niagara Secondary School site this year as well

Both Beamsville District and Grimsby Secondary School students and alumni held separate school-closing festivities back in June. This, despite the fact, their doors will still open in five days.

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